World Cup 2018: Russia destroys Saudi Arabia, Putin is super happy and more from Day 1

The World Cup hosts steamrolled Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the tournament on Thursday

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Day 1 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is in the books. Thursday only featured one match and the opening ceremony, but there was plenty to talk about. The Russian national team is off to a fantastic start after destroying Saudi Arabia, 5-0. It was Russia's first World Cup win since 2002. Here's everything you need to see from the opening day in Moscow:

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Russia crushes Saudi Arabia in opener, off to picture-perfect start

It was a convincing 5-0 victory for Russia, as the host nation got three goals from two substitutes to take all three points. It scored early, and then in the second half it scored often, grabbing two goals in the final minutes.

The scoreline perfectly sums up how this match went. Despite Saudi Arabia have 61 percent possession, Russia had 14 shots, seven on frame. Saudi Arabia didn't even managed to fire a shot on frame. It couldn't create anything, and now the hosts are in fantastic shape to move on to the knockout stage with a plus-five goal differential.

Roger Gonzalez is an award-winning writer based in Virginia that has covered pro soccer from Europe's top clubs to Argentina's first division. Roger started out his pro soccer writing career with Goal.com...
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